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Converting individual Open Office documents into Web pages is easy; just use the Save As command from any Open Office application. However, using this procedure to make all the pages for a complete site could potentially be a tedious task. Instead, use the Web Wizard from an Open Office application. The Web Wizard has several controls for customizing the Web site, and options for saving in formats besides HTML. In fact, you can use the Web Wizard to batch-convert Open Office documents to PDF files.

1. Open any Open Office application, such as Writer, the Open Office word processor, or Calc, the spreadsheet application. Use the application's Open command to load a file you'd like to publish to the Web, including documents made in other applications like Word or Excel.

2. Save the opened document as an Open Office document if it's not already saved as such. For example, if you opened a Word file, click the File menu's "Save As" command, then save the file with the ODT extension.

3. Click the "Web" command under the Wizards heading of the File menu to start the Web Wizard. Click "Next" on the wizard's introductory screen. Click the "Add" button on the wizard's "Select" screen to open a file browser so you can specify the Open Office documents you want converted to Web pages.

4. Click HTML from the "File format" control in the screen's upper right corner, to specify you want to convert to a Web page instead of another format. Click "Next" to move to the screen for choosing the layout for your site's index page, which Open Office documentation refers to as "Table of Contents." Click "Next" to move to the screen for customizing the layout you just chose.

5. Click the check boxes for the document stats you want to appear on the Table of Contents screen. For example, if you want to include the name of the author of a Writer document, click the "Author" check box. Click "Next" to move to the screen for choosing a color scheme for the website. Click "Next" again to advance to the screen for specifying a title for the site. Click "Next" to open the screen for choosing a folder on your hard drive to hold the website's pages.

6. Click "Preview" to open your website's Table of Contents in your browser, then click "Finish" to complete the site and close the Web Wizard.

7. Use the Open command of any Open Office application to load one of the HTML files the Web Wizard created. Edit the Web page until it has the design you want. You can edit the HTML codes directly by clicking the View menu's "View HTML Source" command.

8. Resave the HTML document, then use a file-transfer program to upload the folder containing your site, which you specified in the Web Wizard, to your site's Web servers.

About the Author

Darrin Koltow wrote about computer software until graphics programs reawakened his lifelong passion of becoming a master designer and draftsman. He has now committed to acquiring the training for a position designing characters, creatures and environments for video games, movies and other entertainment media.